President Obama has made no secret of his desire to change U.S. policy in the Caribbean, particularly concerning Cuba. In February, a bipartisan House Bill, H.R. 87, proposed lifting the Cuba travel ban for all U.S. citizens. This bill goes boatlengths beyond Obama’s suggestion of lifting the ban for family travel between Cuba and the United States.

Currently, U.S. citizens may travel to Cuba with the permission of the U.S. government, provided they fit into accepted categories such as journalists or humanitarian aid workers.

In 2008, 2.35 million people visited Cuba. In 2007 only 45,200 Americans (including Cuban-Americans) visited legally, down from 84,500 in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Tens of thousands of Americans are estimated to have visited Cuba illegally, via third countries.

Cuba’s most popular boating destination, Marina Hemingway, has hardly seen any American boats since former President Bush tightened restrictions in 2004. But in 1999, according to Miguel Figueras, the Cuban press attaché in Ottawa, Canada, about 50 of the 80 boats competing in the Hemingway Billfish Tournament were from the U.S. Some predict that over 20,000 U.S.-flagged vessels would visit Cuba within the first year of eased restrictions.

Politically, little prevents Obama from allowing travel to Cuba. Numerous business and travel organizations such as The American Society of Travel Agents and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have requested it, and press mentions of the issue are frequent and visible.

A major problem for boaters (and tourists in general) is the lack of infrastructure, such as marinas, repair facilities, hotels, and restaurants. Huge investments are required to bring Cuba up to a standard acceptable to the majority of tourists, and, according to one published interview, Cuban authorities are not rushing ahead. Figueras stated, “Our philosophy is not to be surprised if it happens, but to wait for it to happen in order to continue constructing new hotels.”

Will cruisers be able to travel to Cuba? I believe it will come to pass within two years, as Washington continues to deal with the issue and popular opinion encourages more freedom. Indeed, should Cuba make any serious human rights improvements, one of Obama’s stipulations for change, this administration will be hard pressed to refuse to ease restrictions.